An obligation to share truth (B. Muehlenberg)

   With the prophets we have examples to follow.  We have models we can emulate.  The prophetic task is never a picnic.  The ministry of the watchman on the wall is never a pleasant one.  It will always be costly and unpleasant.

   You plead and warn and beg and pray and call out and it seems your words are falling on concrete.  No response.  No appreciation.  Just anger, rejection, hostility and opposition.  It is easy to give up under those conditions.  But we dare not.  The prophets did not give up.  The disciples did not give up.

   And most importantly, Jesus did not give up.  All of them proclaimed God’s truth even though the normal reaction was for the people to fully reject what was being said, and to reject the messengers as well.  But every Christian has an obligation to share truth, regardless of the response.

   Truth matters, and the eternal destiny of our listeners depends on what they hear and how they respond to it.  So if it seems like you are just knocking your head against the wall, remember that this is just how the prophets would have felt.

   But they kept at it regardless.  They did not give up – even when told beforehand that their words would fall on fallow ground.  If they can do it then so can we.  Indeed, we must.

--Bill Muehlenberg

Image source:  James Tissot, Jesus Rejected at Nazareth, detail, http://saltandlighttv.org/blogfeed/getpost.php?id=68101

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